An abnormal bulge or aneurysm may occur in a body vessel due to the weakening of the vessel's wall. If the aneurysm grows large enough it may rupture and produce internal hemorrhaging, which can lead to a life threatening condition. In order to prevent rupturing, physicians have developed various methods, such as surgical clipping, and endovascular treatment. Endovascular treatment includes the use of a balloon or coil to occlude the flow of blood into the vascular abnormality by creating a physical barrier. The selection of either surgery or endovascular treatment depends upon individualized risk factors, the location of the aneurysm, the size of the aneurysm, and the likelihood of complete occlusion.
During endovascular treatment an embolization coil is typically delivered to a desired location in the vasculature of a patient through the use of a catheterization procedure. In this procedure, a catheter is inserted into the vasculature of a patient and positioned to be proximal to the desired or targeted location. Then a coil is loaded into the lumen of the catheter and advanced through the catheter using a “push” rod until it reaches and exits through the distal end of the catheter. Unfortunately, this technique suffers from difficulty associated with the precise and controlled placement of the embolization coil. Accordingly, there exists a continual desire to develop and provide a system or mechanism for the placement of an embolization coil into the vasculature of a patient that can be done in a precise and controlled manner, while maintaining overall simplicity, reliability, and manufacturability.